Cox Sees 500 Percent Increase in Exports

The Challenge
Cox Industries was not aggressively pursuing international clients and realized the company was ignoring a large part of the market. Founded in 1954, Cox produces a variety of quality pressure- treated wood products.

Cox needed to determine its top markets and develop a strategic and focused marketing plan to allocate its resources effectively. The company also needed to develop a marketing budget and ensure that all its international goals were being met.

The Solution
ECI conducted a global market analysis, targeted market research and identification of market opportunities. The global market analysis identified potential markets for each segment of the company. ECI also classified and  reviewed international trade data, U.S. exports, global imports and other market factors that indicate size and growth in demand.

In-depth market research was conducted for each segment of the wood product industry in each selected country. The research included a market overview, competitive analysis, distribution
analysis and regulatory analysis.

To identify market opportunities, ECI constructed a list of trade shows to attend or other means of market penetration and well as a list of possible partners/distributors for each country and for each market segment.

The Result
The Export Consortium was able to pinpoint five Asian countries where there was potential for Cox to break into the market. They were able to see the market sizes and compositions, business demographics as well as market trends. The uncovered market opportunities serve as an ongoing business development resource for executing Cox’s international sales strategy.

After the project was completed Cox began exporting to three of the five countries and has seen a 500 percent increase in exports.

What They Had to Say
“It was mind-boggling to know where to start. Once we were able to narrow our focus to just five countries, it didn’t seem like such a big world anymore.”